It fights them 60th day of war and it’s not a day like any other. Exactly two months ago, Vladimir Putin ordered the start of the invasion, which at the time claimed thousands of lives and enormous destruction. This anniversary coincides with the Orthodox Easter, which did not lead to the hoped-for ceasefire: the Russian President attended the prayer vigil in Moscow while terror raged in Ukraine. Especially in the Mariupol area, where a new mass grave was discovered: 28,000 civilians were killed in the martyr city. Today US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will be in Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Prime Minister Draghi for Italian support: “I’ll wait here”
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07.35 Eight dead in Russian attacks in Lugansk
The number of recent Russian attacks in the Lugansk region is eight dead. This was announced by the governor of the region, Seriy Gaidai.
07.13 Kyiv, recaptured 8 settlements in the Kherson region
Ukrainian forces have recaptured eight settlements in the southern Kherson region, the capital of which is under Russian control. This was reported by the Southern Operations Command of the Kyiv Armed Forces, according to reports in the Kyiv Independent.
06.00 Argentina, we will not impose “unilateral sanctions”.
The Argentine government does not see sanctions against Russia as an effective way to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, said Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero in an interview with the national news agency Telam and was picked up by the Russian TASS. Cafiero noted that Argentina’s laws don’t even allow the country to impose “unilateral sanctions.” On the other hand, Argentina proposes a return to dialogue to calm the situation. We do not believe that imposing sanctions and blockades is a productive way to achieve peace, dialogue and diplomatic negotiations,” the minister said
05.15 Atomic Energy Agency: Kyiv asks for help for its power plants
“Ukraine has provided the International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA) with a full list of equipment that Kyiv claims it needs for the safe operation of its nuclear facilities during the current conflict,” said the agency’s director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi. The detailed equipment requirements presented would allow the agency to effectively coordinate and implement the delivery of support to Ukraine. Many IAEA member states have expressed their willingness to offer such assistance to the country.
03.55 Moscow: 90 foreign nationals taken “hostage” on ships
Ninety foreign nationals are “held by nationalists as human shields” in Ukraine. This was stated by Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defense Management Center. “Ukrainian nationalists continue to hold 90 foreign nationals from five states hostage as human shields,” Mizintsev told Russia’s Tass news agency. According to the official, 76 foreign ships from 18 countries are still blocked in seven Ukrainian ports and cannot leave “due to the high risk of bombs and mines from Kyiv”.
03.18 UN, Guterres visits Erdogan: “Turkey plays an important role”
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres travels to Turkey, a country that plays a key mediating role in Russia’s war against Ukraine. This was explained by the UN in a note explaining that the visit precedes those of Moscow and Kyiv. “The Secretary-General will visit Ankara in Turkey, where he will be received by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on April 25,” the UN said. Guterres’ mission will then proceed to Moscow on Tuesday, where he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, and then to Kyiv on Thursday to try to broker an end to the Russian invasion.
01.15 Kyiv: “Moscow threatens chemical attack in Odessa”
Moscow says Ukraine’s special services are planning a provocative chemical operation in Odessa’s Yuzhny port to blame and accuse Russian forces of targeting civilians. A statement that Kyiv instead interprets as a threat disguised as a warning: Russian forces would therefore be the ones planning to launch a chemical weapons attack on the Ukrainian port, according to the Kyiv Independent.
12:35 a.m. Paris, the EU will stop Russian oil in a few weeks
According to French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, the EU will impose a full embargo on Russian oil within a few weeks. In a Kyiv Independent interview with TV channel Bfmtv, Le Maire added that this will help stop the flow of foreign exchange to Russia.
Vladimir Putin at the prayer vigil for the Orthodox Easter (ansa)
00.10 $1.6 billion worth of weapons from Poland
Poland has shipped arms worth around $1.6 billion to Ukraine. The head of the Warsaw government’s press office, Piotr Muller, writes on Twitter and reports what Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced during the conference for the #StopRussiaNOW initiative. Support for “defending Ukrainian, Polish and European sovereignty,” Muller concludes.
00:01 Six civilians killed in a Russian bomb attack in Luganskh province
Six civilians died in a Russian bomb attack in a village in Luganskh province, the governor said. “The village of Girkse has been under heavy Russian bombing all day,” Governor Seriy Gaidai told Telegram on Twitter. This was reported by the BBC, who stressed that they could not independently verify the information.